Slave Lake Minor Baseball is seeing a busy season this year, with around 200 registered players across multiple divisions.
“We’re happy with how all the teams are doing,” says Erin Campbell, one of the board members of Slave Lake Minor Baseball.
Meet the SL baseball teams
Campbell says the program continues to grow, with teams ranging from young children just starting out to competitive provincial teams travelling across Alberta.
Campbell showed the Leader the teams they currently have now.
- U11 Girls softball team
- U13 Girls softball team
U15 Girls softball team
- U11 Pembina team
- U13 Pembina team
- U11 Provincial team
- U13 Provincial team
- U18AA Provincial team
At the youngest level, children aged four to nine participate in introductory baseball programs designed to focus on fun and basic skill development.
“At that age group, they just kind of play with each other,” Campbell says. “They don’t do formal games in a league setting. It’s more about learning the fundamentals and enjoying the sport.”
As players move into older divisions, the structure becomes more organized and competitive.
The U11 division includes several teams, including Pembina teams that compete in regional play against communities such as Athabasca, Barrhead, and Westlock.
“They (the younger teams) still travel, but it’s not as competitive at that level,” she says. “Then we have provincial teams that are affiliated with Baseball Alberta, and those teams participate in tiering weekends and provincials.”
The U11 age group also includes a girls softball team, which Campbell says has seen renewed interest after being reintroduced last year.
“Our girls program is growing again,” she says. “It’s becoming more popular, and we’re seeing more participation every season.”
For the U13 division, Slave Lake Minor Baseball runs multiple teams, including Pembina boys baseball and U13 girls softball. There is also a provincial-level U13 boys team that competes across Alberta under Baseball Alberta’s structure.
At the higher end of the program, the U18 AA boys team competes provincially and travels regularly for games.
U18 AA provincial team wins
Campbell says the U18 team has already seen strong results this season, holding an 8–1 record so far.
“They’ve been doing really well,” she says. “They’ve only had one loss this season and have been strong in competition.”
Campbell says that the coach for that team is Coach Calvin Beauchamp
A win from U13 Pembina boys team
One of the U13 Pembina boys teams also recently competed in an exhibition tournament in Whitecourt, where they recorded two wins and one loss.
The coach for the team is Coach John Bradley
More of SL baseball
Campbell says the season began slightly later than usual this year due to weather conditions. Fields were not ready at the beginning of May, pushing the start of the season back by about two weeks.
“The fields were too wet, so everything got delayed. We were finally able to get started around mid-May,” says Cambell.
Despite the delay, Campbell says the season has been running smoothly since teams got onto the fields. Most divisions wrap up in the third week of June, while provincial teams continue into July.
The organization also runs spring training camps in March and April at the MRC, where players work on pitching, batting, and other fundamentals ahead of the season.
Looking ahead, Campbell says one of the main goals for the program is continued development.
“We’re hoping to bring in more clinics for pitching and batting and focus on player development,” she says. (In baseball, a clinic refers to a program where experienced coaches or players instruct younger or less experienced players on various skills and techniques of the game)
Campbell says that while managing a program of this size comes with challenges, particularly during registration and early-season planning, the support from coaches, parents, and volunteers has been strong.
With roughly nine board members and nearly 30 coaches and assistant coaches involved, she says it’s difficult especially with so many teams operating at once.
“March, April, and May are pretty chaotic,” she says. “But once the season gets going, it becomes much more manageable.”
Campbell says the program’s growth, especially in the girls divisions and youth development, is an encouraging sign for the future of baseball in Slave Lake.
“It’s really about building skills, keeping kids active, and growing the game in the community,” says Campbell
Middle row from left to right: Grady Beauchamp, Connor Beauchamp, Ean Bannister, Luke Lukan-Kubel, Nico Diaz.
Front: Ryker Halcrow. Photos courtesy of Erin Campbell
Julia Magsombol
Lakeside Leader